Pretend Science

I was using Google to do some research on the big bang, and I came across a promising looking site, All About Science. The creators of this site have worked very hard to make it look like a legitimate science web site. But it doesn't take long to realize that this is just more Creationist Woo Woo.

I am getting so fed up with all the blatant lying in our society, from the oil companies spending billions to discredit, or obfuscate the science of global warming, to the political lies we see in corporate funded slam ads.

I wish we had a liars' list for all these charlatans. They call it freedom of speech, but it should be illegal! Anyone have any ideas to help expose the hypocracy?

The market is probably the strongest force in our present Western lives, the goal of profiteering is the one of the most absolute values we can find in our society, so yes, the market is very strong factor in NOT dropping hypotheses that should be, and doing scientific research with small samples and non independant samples and non-controls, there is tons of scientific research every day done this way, the reason is usually markets... greed. Indeed scientific research is not immune to greed, it is permeated by it.

I expect half the time health care professionals are just guessing at best course of action since so many human ailments are simply not understood by science yet. Our doctors are sometimes no better than quacks.

Hmm, interesting statistic!

Just teasing about "statistics", since they're only as accurate as the science that produces them, right? But more to the point, it's going to be pretty tough to top all the flaws in creation "science". I mean, that's fricken intentionally misleading, most of the time. Statistically speaking.

As you get older and your body ages and develops ailments, you will realise how often doctors and physiotherapists contradict each other ! :)

Medical and nutritional sciences are among the least "exact" sciences. Ahead of psychotherapy for sure! but the human body is still very very misunderstood. There was a very good report on CBC last night regarding how so much medical research is done in situations of conflict of interest. Conflict of interest usually causes bad science.

I wish I knew more statistics on success vs fail, especially in medical sciences. Anecdotal evidence and opinions from others considered to be "experts" are probably what most people depend on when making medical decisions. So not all decisions are as well informed as we like.

I didn't feel a strong need to add this reply to you, but I just (coincidentally) read a powerful anecdote from another TA discussion, that seems to fit here. This is not "pretend science".

"My point was that the trust I give is earned by that research and that learning. It's not faith nor is it belief when you understand (even partially) how the knowledge is built. It's not because I "believe" in science that I disbelieve in anything supernatural."

I have read a lot of post on here, yours included. Most atheist do rely heavily on science to argue a point. Once we have discovered that religion isn't what it claims to be, many of us turn to science for the answers. But, science isn't a institute for explaining everything. One of the largest problems i have with science is that there are so many opposing theories, in medicine, psychology, physics, and so on. Each scientist presents their findings and it is up to us to believe in it, or study the findings to the best of our ability. I wish more people did this but all to often you can see that people just blindly follow science the same way as religion.

One of the largest problems i have with science is that there are so many opposing theories

Right, but I think the worst problems with science are caused by ignorance and abuse of it, not so much the necessary, daily trial and error part of it.

Meanwhile, science is still increasingly accurate in its descriptions of reality, and increasingly powerful as a tool. And as is becomes increasingly powerful and pervasive, the quacks like Deepak Chopra and L Ron Hubbard capitalize on people's ignorance and wishful thinking.

I'll bet Deepak's sincerely attempting to help the world and thinks he's improving science rather than perverting it. Hubbard (and even Bin Laden) used our own science/tech against us more like sabotage.

As tools of science pervade, so do its risks of abuse. It seems the best strategy is to educate/enlighten people who need it the most, before we accidentally or purposely wipe ourselves out. This includes (like you say) getting non-scientists to open their eyes as well.

"Meanwhile, science is still increasingly accurate in its descriptions of reality"

Only in certain fields, and even in those fields you have a great number of opposing sides. Reality is strange because in the world of physics realty can be completely different from one realm to the next. I'm not talking about alternate dimensions but more in the realm of the body and the mind.

I agree completely about people who use science against us. I have read Dianetics and found it to be rather interesting but overly opinionated and loosely based on any research done at the time on the brain. Hubbard was in it for the money while Deepak may have wished to help people.

Science certainly has it's limitations and it's biggest come from the scientist themselves. But we can not rule out the validating side of science when dealing with technology and medicine. We can see for ourselves how these studies affect us and work. When science tries to explain why we think a certain way then i become skeptical, as no two people on earth think the same way. Those sides of science should be left up to sound individual studies of yourself. Science should explain what makes up our body, how it works and what could make your body not work like it should.

I dont see where Bin Laden comes into play. Could you give me more feedback on that. This may sound awful but i believe our own government supplies him with information and weapons, based on history with his family and our involvement in the middle east for decades, it doesn't look good on our part. Like when we put Saddam in power back in the 70's, we may be using people like Bin laden to change the structure of power, which we kinda have.

I dont see where Bin Laden comes into play. Could you give me more feedback on that. ...[snip]... we may be using people like Bin laden to change the structure of power, which we kinda have.

I'm just emphasizing how science & tech can be used against us, e.g. in 9-11, or other potential terrorist projects. The fact that it ties into our dependence on oil--including ramifications of global warming--and middle east politics adds even more layers of complexity. I.e., these are major issues that are harder to solve when the world's people (and especially those of us in power) are unable to grasp the complexities en masse, or pursue efficient solutions in a timely manner.

To stay on topic, I'm talking about enhancing science/tech literacy, partly by opposing whichever anti-science movements are doing more harm than good, and while still being able to treat it all in a larger picture of complex socio-economic-political issues. The complexities of modern times, all inter-related! The solutions have to be pro-science/tech overall, but with self-reflection to cut out the bad "science" (or whatever it should be called).

" Reality is strange because in the world of physics realty can be completely different from one realm to the next. I'm not talking about alternate dimensions but more in the realm of the body and the mind."
What did you mean by this? Were you talking about perception of reality through sensory input of different species?

I think that Deepak is in it for the money too. You could get injured standing between him and a camera or celebrity. He's a modern snake oil salesman, exploiting terminology and distorting its meaning in order to dupe people into buying what he's selling. God.

Okay, because I was going to say that perception of reality doesn't actually make physics change between mind and body. The physics works the same way, although it's different parts of physics at work between neurons and muscle tissue. (Although closely related because it's all involving electrical impulses.)